January 2013. I'm going to Cabaret Summer School. Again.
Monday morning we arrive at Star Theatres. There are ten singers, and two pianists who are training to become musical directors for cabaret. I know several of the singers from the open mic nights I've attended each month at La Boheme bar. I met some of the others last night at the performance presented by some other singers who had attended a weekend mini-workshop. Amongst the Summer School group I meet Angela, a Chinese-Australian journalist living in Beijing, who has come to Adelaide to attend the school. In our group, about half are under and half over the age of thirty (in my case, thirty was a long time ago).
Time is allocated for each person to introduce themselves, and to indicate what they want to gain from the week. My opening quip is "This is my third time at Cabaret Summer School. I'm hoping that this time, I'll pass." Then I get straight to the point. I particularly want help with how to move on stage, and I want to work on the storyline for the one-hour show that I intend to present in June as part of the Cabaret Fringe (extra to the Cabaret Festival, which is also held in that month).
We've been asked not to come with any fixed ideas of what we want to perform at the end of the week. Several of us have shows planned. This is an opportunity for us to work on our skills, which we can then apply to our own show. I'm not wedded to any particular idea, but I do want to work on my story.
We discuss "What is cabaret?" It can take a variety of forms, and we observe that the term also is sometimes used as a pejorative, to describe the bland sort of performance you might find at a dinner dance. It's not easy to come up with a definition, apart from the expectation that the show will be held in a fairly intimate setting (rather than in a large arena). Generally the performer will open up and reveal something of themselves (usually without taking off their clothes, but there are exceptions!)
Then each person sings a song of their choice and is workshopped by the mentors, Matthew Carey and Catherine Campbell. This takes the best part of the day.
I choose a song which will not be part of my show. It's from the musical My Fair Lady - "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face". I've chosen it because I've already performed it once, and I have sheet music in a key that's comfortable for me. I don't want to be reaching for any high notes when I get up in front of all these people for the first time. I know the words, so I won't have to hold the music as I sing.
Several of us express our surprise at feeling nervous. It's not a performance, just a workshop - an opportunity to work on our skills. But the theatre feels unfamiliar, and we've only just met some of the participants. It's natural to feel a bit uneasy.
In cabaret you are often talking about yourself and your own experiences. We explore the question of what makes a performance engaging as opposed to self-indulgent. We decide it's the element of story-telling, and the skill of making the audience feel differently when they leave your show.
There is a great variety of song choice. Some are from a musical theatre background, some are classical singers and others are trained in jazz.We work on the key skill of "connecting with the text" - really examining and interpreting the words of the song. We are also encouraged to think about something as we sing, as this makes a big difference to the impact of your performance. Our aim is to allow the emotions to show, rather than deliberately demonstrating them.
It occurs to me that the people who come to Cabaret Summer School tend to be "humanities kids" - people who, like me, lean towards Humanities subjects - English, History, Philosophy, languages - and of course, Drama, which I'd never grouped in this category before. Cabaret is an unexpected application for these skills, but finally I can apply what I learned in poetry interpretation.
For tomorrow, we are asked to prepare either a European cabaret song or a piece by the musical theatre composer Stephen Sondheim. A guest mentor is coming to help us with our interpretations.
Video: "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face"
Monday morning we arrive at Star Theatres. There are ten singers, and two pianists who are training to become musical directors for cabaret. I know several of the singers from the open mic nights I've attended each month at La Boheme bar. I met some of the others last night at the performance presented by some other singers who had attended a weekend mini-workshop. Amongst the Summer School group I meet Angela, a Chinese-Australian journalist living in Beijing, who has come to Adelaide to attend the school. In our group, about half are under and half over the age of thirty (in my case, thirty was a long time ago).
Time is allocated for each person to introduce themselves, and to indicate what they want to gain from the week. My opening quip is "This is my third time at Cabaret Summer School. I'm hoping that this time, I'll pass." Then I get straight to the point. I particularly want help with how to move on stage, and I want to work on the storyline for the one-hour show that I intend to present in June as part of the Cabaret Fringe (extra to the Cabaret Festival, which is also held in that month).
We've been asked not to come with any fixed ideas of what we want to perform at the end of the week. Several of us have shows planned. This is an opportunity for us to work on our skills, which we can then apply to our own show. I'm not wedded to any particular idea, but I do want to work on my story.
We discuss "What is cabaret?" It can take a variety of forms, and we observe that the term also is sometimes used as a pejorative, to describe the bland sort of performance you might find at a dinner dance. It's not easy to come up with a definition, apart from the expectation that the show will be held in a fairly intimate setting (rather than in a large arena). Generally the performer will open up and reveal something of themselves (usually without taking off their clothes, but there are exceptions!)
Then each person sings a song of their choice and is workshopped by the mentors, Matthew Carey and Catherine Campbell. This takes the best part of the day.
I choose a song which will not be part of my show. It's from the musical My Fair Lady - "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face". I've chosen it because I've already performed it once, and I have sheet music in a key that's comfortable for me. I don't want to be reaching for any high notes when I get up in front of all these people for the first time. I know the words, so I won't have to hold the music as I sing.
Several of us express our surprise at feeling nervous. It's not a performance, just a workshop - an opportunity to work on our skills. But the theatre feels unfamiliar, and we've only just met some of the participants. It's natural to feel a bit uneasy.
In cabaret you are often talking about yourself and your own experiences. We explore the question of what makes a performance engaging as opposed to self-indulgent. We decide it's the element of story-telling, and the skill of making the audience feel differently when they leave your show.
There is a great variety of song choice. Some are from a musical theatre background, some are classical singers and others are trained in jazz.We work on the key skill of "connecting with the text" - really examining and interpreting the words of the song. We are also encouraged to think about something as we sing, as this makes a big difference to the impact of your performance. Our aim is to allow the emotions to show, rather than deliberately demonstrating them.
It occurs to me that the people who come to Cabaret Summer School tend to be "humanities kids" - people who, like me, lean towards Humanities subjects - English, History, Philosophy, languages - and of course, Drama, which I'd never grouped in this category before. Cabaret is an unexpected application for these skills, but finally I can apply what I learned in poetry interpretation.
For tomorrow, we are asked to prepare either a European cabaret song or a piece by the musical theatre composer Stephen Sondheim. A guest mentor is coming to help us with our interpretations.
Video: "I've Grown Accustomed to His Face"
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